Derek Read online

  Table of Contents

  Derek (Resisting Love, #4)

  Resisting Love Series

  Love Songs Series by Dawn Martens and Emily Minton

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  THE END

  About the author

  Relinquishing Liberty

  All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

  DEREK by DAWN MARTENS

  Copyright © 2013 Dawn Martens

  Published 2013

  "Cover design © Arijana Karčić, Cover It! Designs"

  Edited by Saoching Moose, Brandi Gilvaja and Anna G. Coy

  Derek is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book either are from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, establishments, events, or location is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. Please do not take offence to the content, as it is FICTION.

  Trademarks: This book identifies product names and services known to be trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of their respective holders. The author acknowledges the trademarked status in this work of fiction. The publication and use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Resisting Love Series

  Chase (Book 1) – Chantal Fernando and Dawn Martens

  Kade (Book 2) – Dawn Martens and Chantal Fernando

  Ryder (Book 2.5) – Chantal Fernando

  James (Book 3) – Chantal Fernando

  Derek (Book 4) – Dawn Martens

  Love Songs Series by Dawn Martens and Emily Minton

  Whiskey Lullaby (Book 1) – coming soon

  Broken (Book 2) – coming late fall

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank Chantal for starting this journey of Resisting Love with me. We only ended up writing two books together and it was fun. Best of luck to you on your solo projects!

  My three main girls, Saoching, Emily and Brandi – I could not have done this without you. How many times did I say I was getting pissy with it and just wanted to trash it? You all pulled me outta that and cheered me on to continue! You fucking rock!

  Saoching – God, I don’t know what I would have done without you! Seriously, you’ve been my biggest cheerleader and I’m just so fucking thankful!! Thanks for doing everything you’ve done for me!

  Emily – You are amazing! I’m so happy that we are working together. Thank you for everything. Between you and Saoching, I don’t know who rooted for me more!

  Brandi – I couldn’t have made it without all of your help, talks, and encouragement! Thanks for doing my second round of editing! Amazing! Loves ya!

  Amanda and Nikki – You two ladies took all my love in the other books. LOL. So I have nothing left to add! Love you both. (Nik – For all the Voxer chats, and random convos.)

  Bec, Angel, and Mel – My Aussie besties. Thanks for the talks, the encouragement, and helping me through a stressful time. (Angel – thanks for helping me with the Aussie words, otherwise the only thing Aussie about this book would have been where they lived lol)

  Shanora – Thanks for giving me tips on details and descriptions. This solo writing shit is hard! Lol. And thanks for everything else you’ve done. You’re always there when I need to vent out shit. <3

  Maureen – You rock my socks!!! Your support, your encouragement! Everything! Just thank you!! <3

  Lynda, Jess, Cindy, Abby, Erika, Stacy – thank you for being there. Thanks for our chats. Thanks for letting me get it all out and talk. Means a lot!

  My beta readers – Skye, Evette, Stacie, and the few other ladies that helped out (already mentioned in early acks) thank you tons!!

  Thanks to Ari for designing this cover, and the covers to all my other books! You are the best! You never get frustrated with me, and are a great friend to talk to!

  My awesome husband, Colin – Fuck I love you! Thank you for just being you!

  My girls, Sarah and Grace – you little buggers are my world! Love you babies!

  Dedication

  This book is for the fans. You fell in love with Chase and it’s what kept this series going. Thank you for following along with Chantal and I through this series. Sad to see this series end, but I hope you all continue on being fans of both Chantal and I on our separate endeavors.

  Prologue

  The music is loud and there are people all over; the smell of sex is in the air. I’m dancing to In Da Club with my girlfriends. It’s a great night to celebrate my promotion. I finally got the head hairdressing spot that I have been wanting for years. As I’m dancing, I feel sexy with my long blonde hair flowing down my back. I’m wearing black stilettos and a black V-neck dress, the dress shows off my lean and curvy body, which makes all the boys crazy.

  Tonight, five guys came up to me and bought me drinks. I never have to bring my credit card when I go out, because I always get drinks for free. Not to sound cocky or anything, but I look damn good. I let them all think they have a chance, but in reality there is no way in hell they’re getting in my panties.

  As the song ends, I see a man standing in the corner with his friends. He is looking at me like he wants to eat me up. Damn. Who is that gorgeous man? God, he is so hot. He has skin the color of milk chocolate, his eyes are so dark they’re almost black. He has big broad shoulders and there’s not an ounce of fat anywhere on that fine body. He walks up to me, with a swagger in his step. “I’ve been watching you all night.”

  “Oh yeah?” I purr, as I push my body against his. “Why don’t you dance with me, and maybe I’ll let you buy me a drink.”

  “Alright, but I’ll make sure you get more than a drink from me, beautiful,” he whispers in my ear.

  I feel the warmth between my legs. Oh my god! I haven’t ever wanted to have sex with anybody, but I want him. “I’m Rylie.”

  “Caleb. Come on let’s dance.”

  We get back on the dance floor and dance the night away. He leaves with me and comes back to my apartment. I’m in rush; I can’t wait to have him in me. We get inside, and I throw myself on him. His lips are on mine as I part them and let his tongue in. “Wait,” he says breathlessly, “I want to get to know you.”

 
What the fuck? “Um okay? This is weird,” I laugh.

  “Trust me. When we get together the wait will be worth it.” He touches my face and smiles, “Let’s get to know each other first, beautiful.”

  “Alright,” I laugh. I lead him to my couch and we sit down. He tells me about his life and asks me questions about mine. For some reason, I tell him everything. He makes me comfortable. You know that saying, love at first sight? I think it’s true because I am feeling something for him, and I love how he makes me feel. Love. I like the feeling.

  Chapter 1

  After working a twelve hour shift at Envy Salon, I finally come home. I love my job; it’s easy, and I get to meet really nice people but there are days that after work all I want to do is sleep. I’m usually on my feet for six hours at least, and depending on how long clients take, and if they are back to back, sometimes I only get a five minute break.

  As soon as walk in the door, I take off my black flats. I throw my long blonde hair in a ponytail and get a bottle of water from the refrigerator. I open the bottle cap and bring the bottle to my lips. The cold water feels good going down. I place the water bottle on the counter and look around the house. Something feels off. There is a weird feeling in the air.

  Fuck, Caleb is already home. He hates it when he gets home before me, because it means he has to wait for dinner. All of a sudden, everything inside me tightens and I begin to shake. I hate how quiet everything is. I slowly take the stairs to our bedroom, one step at a time.

  “Caleb?” I call out, but there is no response. With quick steps I head for our bedroom, where I can see him, staring out the window. His fists are clenched. This is not good. I’ve been home for less than five minutes, and he is already angry. I’m standing in the middle of the room. Frozen. I make a slight whimpering sound, and he instantly turns around to face me.

  “Who the fuck were you talking to today, bitch?” He growls out angrily.

  I back away from him and keep a calm voice. I have no idea what he is talking about. “Just clients, Caleb. No one else.” I assure him, not wanting him to get angry and lose his temper.

  I never know what he is going to do when he gets angry. He has hurt me before. I’ve been to the hospital more times than I can count. Broken ribs. Broken nose. Broken arm. My body was covered in scars, and not just from him. I was brought up in an abusive home; I faced this as a child, and now as an adult. It seems to be my fate. I remembered how everything was when we first started dating. We dated for almost two years before moving in together, and a year later he asked me to marry him. He was gentle and loving, and knew all about my past. I thought he was the perfect man.

  But, that all changed when I caught him cheating on me. The first time, I came home early and saw him fucking some girl in our bed. I gave attitude and said I was leaving. That was the first time he beat me. The second time, it was months later and I saw him kissing a woman in front of our favorite coffee shop. I ran back to our house and started packing my things. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I couldn’t stay with him. Caleb came home shortly after and saw my packed bags. He started yelling at me and told me I was worthless. He took my head and slammed it against the wall. I fell down and he kicked me over and over again.

  After he was done, he left the house. I laid on the floor in my own blood, with tears running down my face. I couldn’t get up; I could barely even move. He got home, a few hours later. He saw me on the ground and helped me on the bed. He apologized and said he would never hurt me again, even though he promised that the first time too. He said he had been stressed at work and took it out on me. I thought he was sorry, but I was deathly wrong.

  As time passed, the abuse got worse. He started to get jealous, possessive, and out of control. I’ve tried leaving him many times, but each time he found me and begged me to come back home. He promised me that he wouldn’t hurt me again, but those promises were always short lived. Over the last six months, I’ve stopped trying to leave because it just makes the abuse worse.

  Caleb stalks towards me and hits my jaw. I fall to the floor with the impact, blood gushing from my mouth. I start to stand back up, but he kicks me in the ribs—hard. I let out a scream which only pisses him off. I’m suddenly up. He grabs me by the hair and drags me to the top of the stairs and shoves me down.

  By the time I’m at the bottom of the stairs, I can barely move. Everything hurts; it all hurts so fucking bad. I try to stand up, but I can’t. I think my leg is broken. I see him come over to me, and before I notice what he’s doing he plunges a knife into my stomach. I scream. Over and over again, with each stab. The pain. God it’s never ending. Finally my screams die down, and I black out. I feel like I’m floating. Is this what death feels like? Just floating, and feeling free. As I slide into oblivion, I hear Caleb talking to himself. “If I can’t have her. No one will.”

  ~***~

  I wake up when I hear some strange noises. Where am I? I finally open my eyes, but barely. Caleb really did a number on me this time. God, everything hurts so badly. I notice I’m in a small white room. Hospital again. There are machines all over. My whole body is sore and tight. I try lifting up my arm and see an IV. Fuck! Everything hurts. I see balloons and flowers all over. How long have I been out for?

  I have to report it this time. This time I’m going to speak up. This time he went too far.

  I hear the door open and my eyes freeze on the door. No! What am I going to do? I can’t see Caleb. Oh my God. He’s going to kill me, I know it. This is the moment Caleb always walks through with flowers.

  I let out a breath of relief, when I see that it’s not him. A tall brown haired man with a white coat walks in the room. He comes over to me and reads my chart and notices I’m awake.

  “Miss Sullivan, glad to see you’re finally awake. How are you feeling?” He comes to the right side of my bed and places his hand on my shoulder.

  “Sore.” Wow. What the hell? My voice sounds all crackly and muffled. Fuck it hurts to talk.

  “You’ve been in a coma for about four months now. I am sure you feel a little more than sore.” I try to move, but he places his hand on my shoulder. “You need to take it easy.” What the fuck did he just say? Four months?! Oh my god. “Do you remember what happened to you?”

  I shake my head, too shocked to speak right now. “Can you tell me what happened please?” I whisper out.

  He looks at my chart and starts to recite my injuries. “You’ve suffered multiple stab wounds. A broken leg. A concussion. Lots of internal bleeding. And I’m sorry, miss, but most of the stab wounds were to your lower stomach.” He brings a chair over and sits down. He takes my hand and looks at me with sad eyes. “Most of which, damaged your uterus. We tried everything we could to heal the damages to your stomach but with the severity of your injuries,” he pauses, “I’m afraid you will not be able to conceive.”

  I let out a heavy sob. I’ve always wanted children one day. Now, I can’t, and it’s all because of Caleb. I’m so fucking stupid for staying with him. This is all my fault. If only I left sooner. I turn my head away from my doctor. How will I be able to breathe again? I see all of my dreams floating away from me.

  “I’ll have the officers come in a little later to talk with you. Ok.”

  I nod, but do not look at him. The doctor leaves the room and shuts the door behind him. Holy fuck. Four fucking months. My work. My friends. I close my eyes to take everything in when the door opens. Please don’t be Caleb. Please. Thankfully it’s not. It’s an officer. She looks to be in her forties, I feel safe when she comes in the room.

  “Miss. Sullivan? How are you sweetie? My name is Officer Connors.”

  “I could lie and say I’m great, but what’s the point in that.”

  “Are you well enough to talk with me?” she asks, ignoring my sarcasm.

  “Yeah, but first, Where is Caleb? My fiancé?” I ask in a quiet voice.

  “He’s been arrested. Your neighbor heard you screaming, and called 000. Wh
en the officers arrived, he was standing over you with a knife in his hand. Now, I know you’ve just been told the news of everything that has happened to you, but I really need to hear your story.”

  After a few tears fall down my face, I tell her. Everything. Even things from years ago. She tells me that she has all the medical files from before, all the pictures of my past beatings, and tells me Caleb will never see the light of day again. With that she leaves, but not before leaving me her card. I cover my eyes and let everything out. I can’t stop crying. I’m crying for myself and how I will never be a mother. I’m crying because I let Caleb do this to me. How will I be able to move on? What am I going to do now? With all the thoughts in my mind I start screaming and sobbing. A nurse comes in with the doctor as they try and calm me down but nothing works. The doctor pulls out a needle and inserts it in my IV. Within seconds my eyes get heavy and I drift off to sleep.

  Chapter 2

  It’s been a few months since I woke up. I’ve healed, but the scars are still there. The spa couldn’t hold my position and they apologized. Gayle, my old manager, found me a new job. I was nervous to start over, but I knew I needed to do this. On my first day, I met a girl named Layla. She was really sweet and was very helpful. She made sure that I understood my job and introduced me to everyone in the company. She told me about her life, and I started to feel envious.

  She has a ton of friends and an awesome man that loved her more than anything. Where’s my happily ever after? She asked me about my life, but I gave her only the basics. I didn’t tell her about Caleb. I didn’t want her to know. It was still hard for me to understand what happened. I tried my best to put on a brave face but deep down inside, I was dying.

  Unfortunately, everyone will soon find out about my life and Caleb. The trial starts next week, and I have to face him again. Officer Connors has been helping me prep for the trial, but it won’t make a difference. I’m not sure if I can hold up through questioning. He still has a hold on me. As soon as I see him, I know I am going to break down.